Now in Goal

Early this week, Andrew Volkening reported to work as usual at Brooks City Base as an Air Force lieutenant.

Friday night, Volkening took a second job.

The Academy grad had an unobstructed view of the Rampage-Texas Stars game.

Volkening was even seated in front of Rampage coach Ray Edwards.

Actually, Volkening grabbed some Rampage bench as the backup goaltender for the AHL affiliate of the Phoenix Coyotes, who hired a local goaltender in New York for their game against the Rangers Thursday night.

When starter Ilya Bryzgalov got the flu, the Coyotes inked Tom Fenton to an emergency contract. Fenton played at American International College.

Is there a hiring policy memo in the Coyotes human resources office about this? If so, the policy has trickled down to the AHL level as well.

“I got a call around 10 this morning to see if I was in town tonight. Coach Ray Edwards gave me the call and an email. Got back to him as soon as I could told him I was available and said they could really use me to back-up,” said Volkening, who backboned the Falcons hockey hopes all four seasons he was at the Academy.

“It was a lot of fun.” And the trip to Oklahoma City for Saturday’s game? “(Edwards) mentioned that, but anytime you leave the local area, you have to run it by the commander, so I have to make a couple phone calls.”

The Academy team won their conference three of four years Volkening played there and was the first team All-Atlantic Hockey Association goaltender last year, so he knows how to tighten his pads.

“We were a double overtime goal from the Frozen Four, so we were pretty competitive.”

The Genoa, Ill. native is the all-time Academy goaltending leader in wins and had a 2.30 goals against average and .911 save percentage last year.

Talk about road trips — other AHA teams? Among others, Holy Cross (Worcester, MA), Connecticut, Army and Niagra, as in New York. RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology) currently leads the conference.

Rampage starter, Matt Climie was summoned to the desert to backup the, um, backup, Jason LaBarbera. Rampage number two Al Montoya is still trying to get his jets to fly in formation after a neck injury in Houston last week. So the Rampage turned to someone who works with jets to sit in for Montoya.

Here’s a link to Todd Walsh’s more indepth and really interesting story on Fenton’s signing in New York.

I especially enjoyed his final paragraph, and hopefully Todd doesn’t mind if I reproduce it here. It reads:

And for those of you goalies who didn’t answer the phone on Thursday because you didn’t recognize the 480 area code, I really hate to tell you this, but it was Brad Treliving and he was about to ask you what your plans were for the evening and if you might have some time. The National Hockey League was calling. The Phoenix Coyotes needed a backup goalie for their game at Madison Square Garden in a few hours. They can’t pay you, but you get to warm up, sit on the bench, and Head Equipment Manager Stan Wilson will ensure that you get to keep the jersey. After all, your name will be sewn on the back of it.

AHL Referee Jeff Smith calls a game like it’s pre-game skate. Only really, really silly infractions are flagged by Smith, who seems almost apologetic when he raises his arm.

Smith calls so few penalties that even Rampage defenseman Maxim Goncharov, who seems to usually be on ref radar for ticky-tack miscues, felt safe with Smith skating the wing. Not so fast. When the Russian’s stick got caught in a Star’s stake, even Smith couldn’t look the other way. It was the ONLY penalty called against SA all night. The Stars were flagged once as well.

Smith was scheduled for a flight a couple of years ago that crashed, but he did not board the plane. Since then, it’s almost like Smith feels grateful to still be skating in these earthbound arenas that he just doesn’t see the minor fouls as too important and only raises his arm when really compelled to.

Either that or he has a hot date and wants to get the game over quickly.

This and That

The Rampage have allowed the first goal in 10 of their last 11 games. Usually, that’s a bad thing. But the Rampage have won seven of those 11 games.

The Rampage are 10th in the AHL in attendance, averaging 4,804tied with Syracuse. Rampage promoters are either sending smoke signals from atop the ATT Center, or really working the group angle. Word of mouth and the occasional TV commercial are doing the trick as well, since local TV stations are avoiding the team like an uninvited relative who crashes the family Christmas party.

Stars left winger, Francis Wathier has scored nine goals against the Rampage in the last 14 months…none quite as easy as the Stars’ second goal. Rampage goaltender Joe Fallon pulled a “Tordjman” while playing the puck in the left circle. Fallon fanned on the pass and put the disc right on Walthier’s stick for a 2-0 lead. Tordjman, the Rampage goaltending leader in most categories, was also known for his adventures out of the crease during his stay in San Antonio. But even Fallon’s goaltending gaffe outdid the Frenchman Friday.

Stars winger Raymond Sawada showed some real stones when he grabbed Goncharov in a little scrum at center ice late in the second. Sawada couldn’t have picked a quieter guy on the Rampage roster for his dancing partner. Neither player escalated the situation into an international incident.

Ran into injured Rampage center Matt Beaudoin on the elevator Friday night. Conversation was short. “Took a shot on that foot, Matt?” “Yeah, first sheeft in Uston.” (he’s French). “Did you cry?” Smile.

Beaudoin was off to his best pro start with 27 points in 27 games and it seems the San Antonio attack misses his participation.

Defenseman Jonas Ahnalov, with no points in 14 games, just keeps getting more physical every game. Many a board buster in Friday’s game came compliments of the smiling Swede.

Stars goaltender Richard Bachman is now 4-0-1 against the Rampage, his only blemish a 2-1 shootout loss on Dec. 3 this year. The Salt Lake City native allowed only one goal in his AHL debut in the ATT Center last year and beat the Rampage in March, 4-1 in relief of Brent Krahn. Bachman also beat SA, 5-2 on Nov. 27.

If it wasn’t for novice fans throwing their bears on the ice after the VISITING Stars scored with a minute left in the game, Friday night would have been the second time the Rampage’s planned the teddy bear toss celebration after their first goal got postponed until after the game following a San Antonio shutout.

When Texas’ Greg Rollo slapped the puck into the empty net, some fans began throwing the bears. PA announcer Roland Ruiz tried unsuccessfully to stop the building tsunami and finally gave up the fight as the reigning bears gained momentum.

Thanks to extended detective work by Rampage media relations director, Katie Krause, the Rampage were also shutout on Dec. 20, 2003. Fans that night waited until the game was over and threw the bears onto the ice. Can’t remember if the teddy bear toss preceded the Chuck-a-Puck or vice-versa that night.

Not to make you feel bad, but consider when that happened, Rampage leading goal scorer, Brett MacLean, was 14 years old.

Kevin Porter had a nice goal Friday night, popping in a lob over Ottawa’s Brian Elliott in Colorado’s 6-5 win over the Senators. Porter, the former Rampage center and Hobey Baker Award winner, now has six goals skating on the Avalanche’s fourth line this season.